From Hollywood to the Home Front: Magnum PI Red Carpet Recap

From Hollywood to the Home Front: Magnum PI Red Carpet Recap

By: Crystal Niehoff

There’s something about the glamorous life of Hollywood that makes most people beg for more. We want to know #AllTheThings and #MeetAllThePeople because, come on, it’s Hollywood!

If you ask me to describe the military spouse life, my responses would vary but they would be primarily positive (sure, I’m biased). I might say it is informative. Challenging. Never EVER boring. A great opportunity for personal growth. But glamorous? Not really in my top 10 responses to describe this particular Army wife’s life.

That is until my Army Wife Network cohorts Wendy Packard and Tracy Hargis and I had the chance to experience a bit of Hollywood—Hawaiian-style!

On October 28, 2018, Army Wife Network partnered with Blue Star Familiesand rocked out on the red carpet to rub elbows with the cast and crew of the CBS TV series, Magnum PI.When AWN received the invite, I never hesitated. I immediately responded with an enthusiastic, “YES, PLEASE!” not because I wanted to meet the TV stars (although that was a pretty cool perk!), but because I believe so much in what BSF does.

I personally am sure to take the BSF annual military lifestyle survey every single year without fail and I greatly appreciate how they advocate for military families in D.C. It was a no-brainer. Sign. Us. Up.

So they did.

Our AWN team arrived at the designated location on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam at about 1 p.m. to begin preparing for our LIVE AWN TableTalk broadcast of the Magnum PI red carpet pre-screening event. We wanted to make sure all of our equipment was in proper working order. I think some guy with the first name Murphy, last name Law said that if technology is going to get twitchy, it will rebel at the most inopportune time. So prep was mandatory!

Plus, we wanted to do some good old-fashioned Army recon of our locale so that we could keep the excited butterflies under control.

Fun fact about all things technological: It seems that our prep and hard work paid off because Zachary Knighton and Stephen Hill were amazed at the technology we possessed that allowed us to broadcast the event live on Facebook.

Our goal for this experience was to give families an exciting peek into this special event no matter where they were stationed, as well as provide a fun and light-hearted broadcast where we chat with the cast and not just interview them.

And I would have to say our mission was certainly accomplished.

Here’s how the event went down… (Side note: If you want to watch our LIVE videos of the LIVEcast to get a real play-by-play, check out Part 1and Part 2on Facebookor watch the videos at the end of this blog post.)

Interviewing Stephen Hill

Laughin’ with Tim Kang

(Yeah, that’s me with the mic and the goofy look on my face—haha!)

It’s hard to pick the best moments of the afternoon, but there were a few that made our glam factor grow. At one point, purely for fun, we made Betsy, Zachary Knighton’s real-life spouse, an honorary Army wife because he plays a veteran on TV. (They are also newlyweds, so we were able to congratulate them on-air!)

Talkin’ with Zachary Knighton and his bride, Betsy

Also, the cast loved the broadcast (excuse me while I blush!) and watched us in action between interviews. In fact, the star of Magnum PI, Jay Hernandez, jumped into our interview all on his own! #BeStillMyHeart

Enjoying our chat with Jay Hernandez

As we chatted with the cast, each shared a special message to military families. The evening was overflowing with epic quotables, but here are some of my top picks:

“My brother and grandfather served in the military. People in the military sacrifice so much: time, birthdays, anniversaries, they give it away so we can have our freedom. Thank you for that!” — Jay Hernandez

“It is an honor to tell the stories of veterans, especially about the transition of coming home.” — Zachary Knighton

After our time on the red carpet wrapped up, we headed to the screening, which was Episode 5, “Death is Only Temporary,” which aired the following Monday night. This particular episode hit on two hard topics: homeless veterans and PTSD, both of interest to military families. I don’t want to give away any major spoilers, but I WILL encourage you to catch that episode (and all the other past/future episodes) of Magnum PI to hear these amazing actors tell the whole story.

The fun didn’t stop there. After the screening, the cast held a Question and Answer session with questions that were selected from BSF members, just like you and me!

This event of a lifetime wrapped up with drinks and refreshments. But we couldn’t leave without getting a photo on the red carpet. (Thanks to Blue Star Families’ Hawaii Chapter President Bridgette for snapping the pics!)

Here I am with my hubby and kiddos

Naturally, this is something that we here at AWN will remember for the rest of our lives… not because it was necessarily glamorous, but because of the story it tells of military families around the globe. The red carpet isn’t just about Hollywood, it’s about the home front. The color red reminds us of the blood that has been shed for our freedom. We wear red on Fridays to Remember Everyone Deployed. Red waves proudly with blue and white in our beloved flag.

So yes, after this incredible “Hollywood to the Home Front” red carpet experience, I would now have to say that military family life isn’t only inspirational, encouraging, and worth every minute of challenge and sacrifice, but yes, it is pretty glamorous… in a fun sort of way.

LIVE from Hawaii! AWN's Crystal, Wendy, and Tracy are teaming up with Blue Star Families to give you a virtual front-row view on the red carpet for a Magnum P.I. screening with CBSIn Part One: We interviewed…*Stephen Hill who plays T.C.*Tim Kang who plays Detective Katsumoto*and started our interview with Perdita Weeks–Higgins–before connection dropped.Watch Part Two here –> https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=598751503872927&id=53981807332

Magnum PI Red Carpet – Part Two:

LIVE from Hawaii! AWN's Crystal, Wendy, and Tracy are teaming up with Blue Star Families to give you a virtual front-row view on the red carpet for a Magnum P.I. screening with CBS. Here we interviewed:• Perdita Weeks, who plays Higgins• Zachary Knighton, who plays Rick • Jay Hernandez, who plays Thomas MagnumWatch Part One here –> https://bit.ly/2EPTBoH

About Crystal Niehoff

Owner and Chief Executive Officer- the "Commander" of AWN- Crystal is married to her best friend, Army Chaplain (LTC) Kevin Niehoff; and is the proud work-at-home mom of Aricka and Seth, two fur babies, and three grown children with families of their own.
Previously a child welfare worker, Crystal additionally holds certifications as a doula, and birth and bereavement chaplain. In 2014, she founded Heartstrings Ministries, providing grief support for military families enduring pregnancy loss in any trimester. Her e-book, Dads & Bereavement, can be obtained through StillBirthday.
Crystal has written extensively for non-profit organizations, including TFI Family Services, Inc., CASA for Children, Bethany Christian Services, and Rainbow Kids Adoption & Welfare Advocacy, through which she shares her expertise on parenting, foster care, and adoption. Crystal is also a contributing author of From Reveille to Retreat, the Journey of a Lifetime: A Handbook for the Army Chaplain’s Spouse, published by the U.S. Army in 2015.
In her not-so-spare time, Crystal enjoys volunteering, researching, traveling, and photography. She and her family currently live in Hawaii, where her husband is stationed at Schofield Barracks.